Ghostship Aftermath
Ghostship Aftermath – the game that takes SCI-FI SURVIVAL HORROR to a new level. Prepare for a new breed of survival horror with rogue-like elements!
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Over 350 years in the future mankind has embraced space travel and exploration. We have colonized many worlds and spread ourselves across the galaxy. The Colonial Defense Force (CDF) is responsible for the security of Earth and her colonies, and our only line of defense against the unknown.
On March 1st 2368 contact was lost with our most distant colony, located in the Icarus System. The Dreadnought class spaceship CDF Goliath was dispatched on March 3rd 2368 to investigate. The CDF lost contact with the Goliath not long after it entered the Icarus System on March 12th 2368. She is now presumed a Ghostship!
Before sending any more CDF forces it is common practice to send in an Advance Scientific Evaluation Team (ASET) comprised of 2 specialists from the Colonial Science Division (CSD) to determine if there are any biological or scientific threats which would impede a salvage operation.
You play the part of Dr. Jake Abbots who boards the CDF Goliath while your partner, Dr. David Riggs, stays behind on the CSD Alexis as mission control. You have radio contact with Dr. Riggs and he will give you objectives, advice, and help you along the way. Or at least that was the plan. As you will soon find out, anything can happen aboard the Ghostship…
Your actions will decide your fate in this non-linear sci-fi survival horror game with real consequences. You have limited oxygen and sprinting uses it 4x as fast, while your helmet has a non-rechargeable, non-replaceable 1 hour flashlight battery. So manage them well to avoid suffocation, or dying to unseen horrors lurking in the dark. After all, dead is dead is dead. With permadeath there are no do-overs, when you die you have to start a new game, but with random events and multiple story-line branches death is just a new beginning, and every game will offer something new!
Features
– Instant Action Mode, get into the action faster with a few weapons and no permadeath in this gamemode included in the Halloween update.
– Random events and multiple story-line branches – no two games will be the same.
– Survival horror – not a regular FPS, so choose your fights carefully.
– Huge focus on atmosphere and immersion, on a huge and mostly functional military spacecraft.
– Open world – explore and uncover secrets and clues to find weapons, shields, and medikits.
– Roguelike-like – with elements such as Permadeath and random enemy spawns.
– Survival elements – limited flashlight battery and oxygen management.
– Signature Helmet View – a living in-game hud with no artificial overlay. (see screen shots)
– Physics – Normal gravity and zero-G.
– Hassle Free DLC – allows you to free roam with no enemies or objectives to hassle you. Plus it’s free.
– Free additional content scheduled for release Oct 30, 2014 for Halloween.
– Made for virtual reality (VR), you get both the non-VR version and VR version so when Oculus Rift becomes available in 2015 you’ll be ready!
*****WARNING: THIS GAME CONTAINS FLASHING LIGHTS & LOTS OF BLOOD n` GUTS! ******
Steam User 48
I think people are attrociously biased and wholly unreasonable with their expectations for this game. Yes, the game has flaws.
The game is clunky in areas, a little loading screen heavy, some of the choices are questionable (totally silent enemies bum rushing you from behind with the only warning being a big chunk of your arse missing), moving around can be a little difficult.
No, this game isn't going to be Deadspace or System Shock 2. It was cobbled together by a single person who had nothing but fumes for funding, and holy shit is it impressive for that. Not just impressive, but ambitious.
I feel that most of the negative opinions are falling prey to two things. Firstly the game's rather odd graphics, it's designed for VR, and holy hell does it look good in that
Anyway, in short I feel people are walking into this game with the wrong expectations. The guy who made this game (solo) could have made a godly 2d / side scroller / what have you with how dedicated and driven he is, but he didn't sell himself short and went for the gold instead and made the game he wanted to make. The result is spectacular but not without flaws, though given the origins it's extraordinary.
.. Honestly though, your partner's V.O. is god awful. There's absolutely no justification for how badly delivered the lines are. I feel that improving that would be one of the best things that could be done. But like I said, not perfect!
Steam User 15
Dead Space on an open ship where everything is generated randomly - from tasks to items.
Shrinks clobbered me until I don't know from what meaning - this game is just gigantic.
But well it's time to take the plunge - and the first thing I want to do is thank the creator - Shaun. I've never seen such an involved developer; he personally added me as a friend, explained everything, told me everything, and from time to time threw in some hints - I felt like someone special.
The game begins with the fact that, we find ourselves on a huge ship in which something happened - (of course, the invasion of giant worms turning people into zombies) when we arrive at the scene to investigate what happened - and listen to what our companion sitting comfortably in the cockpit of the ship on which we flew. We get the first task and here will attach a hint of croissant - the tasks as well as monsters, weapons and decor is randomly generated (the general layout of the ship is always the same) to this comes permadeath you die-you die.
But-but; that's not all-we have only one flashlight with us in which the batteries last for only an hour, as well as an air limit which can be recharged. The thing that surprised me the most in all this is the phenomenal atmosphere, deadspace or other strictly horror games can hide, what we get here is beyond average and you have to try it yourself (sounds and noises in this game are a total pulp), each time I was kept in suspense, even though I was already in the cockpit; I never knew if this time some worm would not, and jump out of the pipe in the ceiling; while I'll be browsing the data.
But unfortunately, like every game and this one, it has its flaws -.
The first and most annoying is the intro - which we have to watch every time (it lasts about 3 minutes) the solution to this problem is to choose a quick game - a more casual mode where we have save points, many facilities and scrolled sooner mentioned intro.
The second element is the shooting system, which EVIDENTLY is made for oculus rift - it's damn weird, but you can get used to it.
In summary, the game is a MEGA HARDKOR challenge with a phenomenal atmosphere and even better soundtrack, which can be passed several times and will surprise you every time.
Steam User 9
I bought this game back in 2014 (having followed its development for a long time) but it ended up being sat in my library for several years, having only 'checked it out' when it launched, but I never really gave it the time of day (no idea why). Today, I sat down and played it for several hours, and possibly around five restarts (once you die, that's it, game over).
This is the first game by MAG studios, but I believe takes place after the events of their second game, CDF Ghostship, which is an indie FPS involving the soldiers of the starship dreadnought CDF Goliath. However Ghostship Aftermath is survival horror with guns, through and through. Contact has been lost with the Goliath and you've been sent to investigate what went wrong. A cheesy scenario, but a classic sci-fi horror setting which is influenced by Aliens, Dead Space and Event Horizon.
Survival horror has always been at its finest when you're trapped in a labyrinthine environment with dark corridors, jump scares, minimal ammo and the need to think fast and plot your route between 'breaks'. Ghostship Aftermath utilises this to the fullest extent, with enemies taking advantage of the bloodstained, shadowy walkways, ambushing you at the most inopportune moments, keeping you on edge at all times, with your only respite being when you're waiting for airlocks to cycle. The music is used perfectly - its not too ambient so that you don't notice it, but it's not blockbuster either, and the jump scares are aligned perfectly to the score as well.
What makes it truly interesting is the roguelike nature of the game. First up, in the story mode, if you die, you die. There's no handholding, so you're forced to learn the mechanics off the bat, and given that the ship is primarily 'open world' you can get lost easily, stumbling from room to room trying to reach your next objective. This isn't a bad thing as the game invites exploration as there are lots of achievements for doing specific things and lots of weapons to find on the ship. Secondly, it's got a random narrative. The ship's layout remains the same, but the events in different areas are randomised to create a unique story each time you play it. This is most notable in the personality of your partner (who stays comfortably in the ship you arrived on, talking to you remotely) and the ship's AI, ASMI. On top of that, there are multiple endings as well (that I've yet to see, mind you), so all in all, it offers hours of replayability - dying isn't a chore, it's a step towards learning the game and its many, many different encounters.
Possibly my favourite spoiler-free moment so far was trying to reach an objective via the ship's very-long sub-corridor. A bloodstained warning told me that the corridor was ridden with horrors so when I entered the corridor all was quiet. Then as I was halfway down, I was overwhelmed by zombies that came lumbering out of the shadows, forcing me to waste valuable oxygen sprinting as fast as I could to the airlock, then waiting for it to open whilst the zombies got closer and closer... tense moments like that can really make a gaming experience.
It's not without its flaws, of course - it's possible to get stuck on scenery, and walking over debris can cause camera-stutter. Enemy movement is overly-quick and erratic, and the graphics are somewhat old-school. But these just don't detract from what is a wonderfully tense and detailed game which stands out in a world of linear games that spoonfeed you on how to play. If you want to find your way around, you need to look at maps on the ship's walls. Emptying a magazine into an enemy might have little effect unless you work out its weakness (e.g. plasma shotgun vs. zombie heads), so you can learn the mechanics, and I'm still learning the game.
I have to say, I'm seriously impressed and I think that if you're looking for a solid indie survival horror with great atmosphere, solid voice acting, mechanics you need to work out for yourself, a good challenge and bags of replayability, this won't disappoint.
8/10 - Redfield.blog
Steam User 23
This game is not an FPS, it is a sci-fi survival horror game. Survival here means you have resources you need to manage other than health and ammo. You start out with only 90 minutes of oxygen so you need to keep track of how much you have and try to find a place to recharge before you run out, and sprinting uses 4x the oxygen so you have to be aware of your situation and decide whether it's more important to move fast or breathe longer.
Light is a limited resource that needs managed for survival, but also plays into the horror side of things. Dark is scary and scary is good, but you can't see items, messages, or enemies in the dark so you need a flashlight to survive. If you're using a flashlight it's not so dark and not so scary which is bad for horror. So for middle ground between a scary dark ship and being able to see things and survive you only get 60 minutes of flashlight battery (non-rechargeable). If you run out completely... good luck with that.
All gamers know with melee enemies and guns that backup+shoot=win. To disrupt this equation there are boxes all over the ship that are collision enabled. Here if you try and run backwards shooting you risk running into a box and getting caught by the bad guy if you don't jump over it fast enough. This is an intentional feature designed to make you watch where you're going and prevent you from playing this like an FPS. Remember where I said "this is not an FPS" earlier?
Additionally, enemies are very difficult to kill, especially in groups. It imbues a sense helplessness in the player, and being helpless is scary. In one variation of the storyline I ended up in a corridor filled with aliens yelling "F*CK YOU DIE DIE DIE! F*CK YOU DIE DIE DIE!" as I poured plasma rifle fire into the oncoming swarm and screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" as I was overwhelmed and eaten.
Perma-death is listed in the features section and seems self explanatory, but I feel it needs reiterated because some people don't quite get how it works. The game does save at loading screens so that you can quit and pick up the story later if you need to, but there is no manual saving or loading. When you die though your last save point dies with you and you have to start a new game. Having a save point to fall back on makes dying less of an imposition and alleviates the player's fear of dying and doesn't emphasize survival.
The game does lack some polish and is rough in some areas, but if you consider it was made by 1 developer with 0 budget, it is understandable. He has been continually improving the game over time, releasing updates periodically. He has also already released 1 free DLC and will be releasing another for Halloween as a token of appreciation to the customers and as an apology for the buggy release. He's not perfect, but how many developers even bother to try and make things right with their customers?
Even if it is rough in places, the tension in the game is palpable. I usually play games to relax, and I've got to say that I almost don't like playing this one because it keeps me wound up the whole time. The biggest part is you don't know what's going to happen next. The storyline is randomized, enemy spawns are randomized, the only thing you can be sure of from one game to the next is your own name, the location of some weapons/objects, and that you're on a big scary Ghostship.
Even the way you move is tense, difficult, and adds to the atmosphere. You clunk along slowly in your heavy spacesuit with magnetic boots, and although you can "sprint" (I use that word loosely, its more like a fast jog) it is only for a couple seconds before you have to go back to walking speed. After all, you are Dr. Jake Abbots from the Colonial Science Division, not a space Marine.
I recommend this game because it achieves its overriding goal, to scare you the entire time, and the randomized storyline is a novel idea that provides tons of hours of re-playability. I've also posted a few technical considerations in the forums I didn't have room for here.
P.S. I HIGHLY recommend reading the MANUAL and watching the getting started video from the developer before playing the first time as you're thrown into the deep end on this game.
Steam User 15
Hello. I did a video review on this game to help people looking into this game to help them figure out if they want to pay the money for the game or not. I would recommend this game but there are a few things u need to know about this game.
1. Controls are weird
2.Options are strange and cant be accessed in game.
3.It is a little buggy when it comes to Character/environment interaction
4.AI is a little strange
I go into more depth and show some game play in the Video review.
I hope this helps others when it comes to getting or not getting this game.
Steam User 15
Its more than decent for a first attempt.The random storylines are a hook as is its replay value.That alone is worth the money in my eyes.Unfortunetly lots of people wont get beyond the first hour, because they have not read the bits about it being a 'survival' horror and throw their toys out of the pram when the nasty aliens kill them.Doesn't this guy know we have a right to suvive!! I would recommend it to anyone who likes a challenge ,as long as its not too hard.
Steam User 3
Despite the technical issues and the fact that it looks like a horrible System Shock clone, I think that Ghostship Aftermath is a decent game, although I wonder how does it look like if you play it with the Steam VR